The prior art is well documented with various types of ignition devices in use with an internal combustion engine cylinder. The most conventional type of ignition device is the spark plug which, upon being installed within a top end location of the cylinder, issues an iterative spark for igniting reactants or combustion (atomized fuel and air) which are compressed between a piston driven cylinder bead and the top end of the cylinder.
In operation, and upon sending an ignition signal to a traditional spark plug, the plug begins to ionize the spark gap. Ionization is defined as the physical process of converting an atom or molecule into an ion (e.g. and which is further defined as an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more valence electrons, thereby giving it a positive or negative electrical charge).
During the ionization phase, lasting about 5-6 millionths of a second, an incoming (build-up) voltage is momentarily stranded (by virtue of the spark gap not yet having been established) and, as a result, heats up ignition components including the spark plug. This action results in both wasted energy and ignition time. Upon the ignition voltage overcoming the resistance in the spark gap, a spark is created and discharged, according to a given intensity such as approximately 50 watts. The spark must ignite within the compressed and atomized reactants of combustion contained with the cylinder and in order to ignite the combustion chamber.
Known disadvantages associated with conventional spark plugs include the tendency of the plug ignition to reactant combustion firing timing often being out of step with an optimal (near or at) top dead center position established between the piston driven cylinder bead and cylinder. Other disadvantages associated with conventional spark plug ignition includes the tendency of the subsequent cylinder combustion to occur incompletely, resulting in wasted reactants discharged through the cylinder exhaust cycle and less than optimal power delivery to the crankshaft or other work output mechanism connected to the cylinder head connected crank.
Other attempts have been made to substitute conventional spark plugs with a replacement unit, and in the attempt to more effectively ignite a fuel-air mixture. Such ignition devices include such as a pre-chamber flame distributing igniter for projecting a burning plasma into an engine combustion chamber and reference is made to Cherry U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,977,873, 5,109,817, 5,297,518 and 5,421,299. Additional types of directed jet, or torch jet, spark plug designs are disclosed in Durling U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,021,275, 5,421,300 and 6,213,085.